PSALM 10


1 [a]Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?

       Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

 
 2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,

       who are caught in the schemes he devises.

 
 3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;

       he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

 
 4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;

       in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

 
 5 His ways are always prosperous;

       he is haughty and your laws are far from him;

       he sneers at all his enemies.

 
 6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;

       I'll always be happy and never have trouble."

 
 7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;

       trouble and evil are under his tongue.

 
 8 He lies in wait near the villages;

       from ambush he murders the innocent,

       watching in secret for his victims.

 
 9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;

       he lies in wait to catch the helpless;

       he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

 
 10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;

       they fall under his strength.

 
 11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten;

       he covers his face and never sees."

 
 12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.

       Do not forget the helpless.

 
 13 Why does the wicked man revile God?

       Why does he say to himself,

       "He won't call me to account"?

 
 14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;

       you consider it to take it in hand.

       The victim commits himself to you;

       you are the helper of the fatherless.

 
 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;

       call him to account for his wickedness

       that would not be found out.

 
 16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;

       the nations will perish from his land.

 
 17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;

       you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

 
 18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,

       in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

 
Footnotes:

Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may have been originally a single acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.